Over a Million Students and Parents Vote in the 2002 National Student/Parent Mock Election
(PRWEB) November 10, 2002
American students and parents participated in a vast exercise in democracy this past week as over one million votes were cast in the National Student Parent Mock Election. From 10 students in a one room school in Lime Village, Alaska, where the mail comes in by plane once a week and the parents never vote, to over 100,000 students and their parents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; from Muslim schools in the Bronx to American schools in Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Japan and the Virgin Islands, the votes poured into Mock Election National Headquarters in Richmond, Virginia.
The nationÂ’s largest voter education project, the National Student/Parent Mock Election, joined forces with AOL, the nationÂ’s largest internet provider, to make it possible for participants to cast votes online from around the world if they wished, foreshadowing the way Americans will vote in the future.
In some cases the votes mirrored those in the actual election (the students voted for Republican control of the Senate and the House, for example) and in some they did not. Students also voted on key national issues such as homeland security, the economy, education, environment and energy and health care.
The students chose education as the most important issue in their view, with homeland security and health care tying for second place, followed by the environment and then the economy—suggesting that their elders worries about money and job security had not yet affected them.
Students from the Governor's School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, Virginia undertook the challenging task of tabulating and consolidating the national vote. They established National Mock Election Headquarters in the Virginia General Assembly Building and tallied results from around the country and overseas throughout the day and well into the night. It was an added learning experience in democracy and a first for a school to assume this responsibility.
“What is important about a mock election is not who wins and who loses” Gloria Kirshner, President of the National Student/Parent Mock Election said, “but whether or not we are turning the sense of powerlessness that keeps young Americans, and their parents, too, from going to the polls into a sense of the power of participation in our democracy.”
“This is the largest generation of children under 18 in the nation’s history. Today’s children will grow up to have more power than 99% of the people who have ever walked the earth.1 But if present trends continue, most of them will never exercise their power and vote. Our teachers are the gatekeepers of democracy. It is they who must teach young Americans the moral authority of their citizenship. Never in the history of our nation was it more important to demonstrate our faith in our freedom.”
There were some interesting responses to the underlying questions on the national issues.
On education, students were almost equally divided about providing school vouchers vs. leaving the present system as it is (29% – 25%). An equal percentage, however, believed that “tax dollars should not be used to fund private or religious schools” (30%).2
Voting on homeland security, 34% of the students were “willing to sacrifice some of their constitutional rights for greater security.” 27% stated that “while both are important, maintaining constitutional rights is more important than greater security.” 25% voted that “defending and pursuing our constitutional rights is the best kind of homeland security our nation can have.”
On the question of health care costs, an overwhelming number (47%) believe that “prescription drug costs should be lowered but market competition can be more effective at doing so than government regulation,” whereas 30% believed “the government should ensure that prescription drug costs should come down, even if it means raising taxes or allocating less money to other programs.” 24% voted that “individuals should be responsible for their own health care services, free from government interference or help.”
On the question of environment and energy policy, by an overwhelming majority (48%) the students voted that “more emphasis should be placed on energy sources that are sustainable and environmentally friendly such as solar or wind power.” 18% believe that “since business drives the U. S. economy and world leadership, the government should impose minimal environmental regulations on business.” 19% believe that “in the current international situation, sustaining domestic energy sources is more important than environmental conservation.” 15% said that “the government should provide tax incentives to Americans who buy alternative fuel or fuel-efficient cars, even if providing those tax incentives requires raising taxes on traditional fuels such as gasoline.”
On questions of economic policy, the students voted for the Republican approach of lowering taxes vs. Democratic concern for social welfare by 39% to 29%. 14% indicated they didn’t like either party’s policies. 18% voted that “individuals should be totally free from government interference in their economic decisions.”
Michael Kirby, Vice Chairman, said "properly used by educators, the internet has a very important role to play in our democracy. As our elections grow more inclusive, our freedoms will stand on firmer ground.”
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Note to editors:
The University of ColoradoÂ’s evaluation found that the National Student/Parent Mock Election increased the belief that voting is important, political decision-making ability, informed involvement on current issues, the discussion of political and election topics with parents and the belief that social studies classes are relevant. It decreased the sense of powerlessness.
For statements of support from national civic and educational organizations, the two party chairmen, etc. please see attached.
Also see attached past statistics on voter turnout and youth attitudes toward civic participation.
